Hello and welcome to today’s news from Japan Daily News on January 23rd, 2024. In a disturbing incident in Adachi Ward, Tokyo, the bodies of a married couple in their 50s were found under the floor of their residence. The female suspect, who was arrested for abandoning the bodies, has now been joined by a male suspect of Filipino nationality, who is an acquaintance of the woman.

Moving on to our next story, Nerima Ward has decided to significantly expand grants to promote seismic strengthening in what are known as ‘wood dense areas.’ This decision comes in the wake of the Noto Peninsula earthquake, which resulted in the collapse of many old wooden houses. The ward plans to focus on approximately 1,100 residences in these areas and provide substantial financial support for their seismic reinforcement.

Now, let’s turn our attention to the weather. The coldest air of the winter season is expected to bring heavy snowfall to the Noto Peninsula earthquake-stricken areas, particularly along the Japan Sea coast, around the 25th of this month. This will require extra caution due to the potential impact on transportation and other aspects.

Moving on, the mayor of Suzu City in Ishikawa Prefecture, Mr. Izumidani, has expressed his intention to secure the necessary land to construct temporary housing. The aim is to provide approximately 2,500 units, which is estimated to exceed the number of completely destroyed houses.

In other news, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has issued a nationwide notice regarding school health examinations. The notice emphasizes the need to consider children’s privacy and emotions by covering their bodies with gym clothes or other attire that does not require them to be partially undressed during the examinations.

Next, the government and ruling party are considering implementing tax reduction measures for disaster victims one year ahead of schedule. These measures would apply to individuals who suffered damages to their homes and personal belongings due to the Noto Peninsula earthquake, and would involve reducing income tax and resident tax based on the amount of losses incurred.

Lastly, experts are warning of the possibility of heavy snowfall in the Noto Peninsula earthquake-stricken areas, particularly along the mountainous areas. They caution that the snow, which is expected to be wet and heavy, could accumulate on power lines and lead to an expansion of power outages. And now for the weather. Today in Tokyo, it will be partly cloudy with a high of 10°C and a low of 5°C. There is a 45% chance of overcast skies and a 0% chance of rain. The average temperature will be 8°C. Visit JapanDailyNews.com for the news, yen exchange rates, and a daily Japanese proverb.